Could fingerprint be the death-knell of the brick-n-mortar password?

Biometrics, the collection and use of biological data and behavioural characteristics, could be the next big leap in the world of financial services going by its increased incidence across the globeAmit Bapna | ET Bureau | Updated: July 13, 2016, 11:10 IST

IndusInd Bank did something rather attention-grabbing a few weeks back.It made its brand ambassador Farhan Akhtar recount his experiences with passwords. And then got him to invite people to bid farewell to the passwords of yore, complete with #RIPpassword.

Thus setting the stage for the bank's latest offering: fingerprint banking which allows customers to do end-to-end transactions on the mobile banking app using just their fingerprint.

Biometrics, the collection and use of biological data and behavioural characteristics, could be the next big leap in the world of financial services going by its increased incidence across the globe.

Closer home, though early days, various financial institutions like ICICI Bank, Standard Chartered, DCB have gotten into it with varying degrees of depth.

Standard Chartered Bank has added biometric authentication to its mobile banking app. DCB has even launched a biometric-based ATM ma chine in Bengaluru where cash withdrawal can be done without either the ATM or Debit card or PIN number.

"We hope that unique services like fingerprint banking will help to drive customer engagement as also trigger consumers to adopt digital services and platforms", shares Sumant Kathpalia ­ head, consumer banking, IndusInd Bank. The service has been developed after the bank deep-dived into consumer behaviour and insights on remembering complicated and lengthy passwords, he adds, which often results in their inability to be active on or engage with various digital mediums.

The bank allocated a marketing budget of Rs 15 lakhs-Rs 18 lakhs which includes TV and digital spends as well as presence on OOH and film screens. The film conceptualised by RK Swamy-BBDO comprises two films, one featuring Farhan Akhtar with Boman Irani while the other stars Akhtar and Ratna Pathak Shah. The digital agency for the brand is WebChutney.

Over the next decade, banks may want to wipe out passwords altogether going by the global trend. Says Ajay Kelkar, COO of Hansa Cequity, "People, and millennials in particular, are tired of passwords and PINs." An offering like this would work well with the new-age customer for sure but banks need to watch out for privacy, he cautions.

Not just a customer acquisition tool but it could even work in cost optimisation for once it has crossed the barri ers of safety and security walls, the fingerprint authentication functionality could help reduce costs associated with password resets, lockouts and call centre inquiries.

For IndusInd Bank, this offering will give it the much needed traction with the segment of customers wanting convenient features, says Dr Renuka Kamath, professor, marketing at SP Jain Institute of Management, but the bank will have to leverage this advantage in the fastest possible time by getting new customers in. She finds the campaign to be sharp and focussed, but feels it could have subtly brought in the trust factor to the fore, as the Indian consumer may be hesitant about accessing an account through a fingerprint.

Even though fingerprints are purported to be unique, there may be enough out there who still feel strongly about the good old-fashioned punching of passcodes from memory.